Konoha Hospital.
Hikari sat there quietly. If he had a cigarette in his hand right now, it would be nothing short of heavenly bliss.
As for Hiashi, he was pacing back and forth in the hallway, occasionally casting anxious glances toward the door of the examination room.
"It's already been over an hour. Why isn't it finished yet?!"
"What are you worried about? Hinata isn't sick—just treat it as a physical checkup. You're the head of the Hyuga Clan, someone who's seen the world. Don't be so nervous!" Hikari reassured him.
Hiashi sighed, then continued pacing.
In the past, Hinata had always disappointed him in training, and he had looked down on her. But no matter what, she was still his child.
Now, she had been taken in by Tsunade for an examination lasting over an hour. Even a full-body check-up shouldn't take this long!
*Creak!*
The door to the examination room finally opened. Hiashi flashed forward in an instant and appeared in front of Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama, how is she?"
Tsunade was startled by his sudden movement. She looked at him speechlessly for a moment before saying, "What are you panicking for? Hinata is very healthy. There are just some minor abnormalities. I need to discuss them with Hikari."
With Kamizuki Hikari?
What was there to discuss with him?!
Hiashi turned to look at Hikari. He admitted that Hikari was powerful, but this was a medical issue—surely it didn't need his input.
"Hiashi-dono, that look in your eyes is making me very unhappy." Hikari said.
He walked over and took the examination report from Tsunade's hand, scanning through it.
Heartbeat, blood pressure, and other routine checks—no issues.
X-rays of bone development were normal too.
As Hikari continued reading, he reached the later portion of the report.
Gastrointestinal cell activation increased.
Muscle activation increased, strength increased.
Bone density increased.
"How were these data obtained?" Hikari asked curiously, pointing at the conclusions at the end.
Tsunade glanced at it and said casually, "Did you forget? A few days ago, Hinata came here to learn medical ninjutsu. At the time, to help Sakura learn how to use medical equipment, we also did a basic full checkup on Hinata."
Hiashi's face darkened. If he weren't worried about Hinata's current condition, he would have wanted to scold her right then and there.
You are the legitimate heir of the Hyuga Clan—how could you casually undergo examinations like this? What if someone took advantage of it?
"These changes in the data are pretty much what I expected," Hikari said as he handed the report back to Tsunade. "Make sure you store it properly. If outsiders see this, it'll cause trouble."
"Is there something special about this?" Tsunade asked curiously.
She was the Hokage of Konoha—the most authoritative person in the village. With Hinata showing abnormalities, there was no harm in her knowing.
"Hikari-dono, this matter..." Hiashi wanted to stop him. In his view, this was an internal matter of the Hyuga Clan. Even if Tsunade was the Hokage, that didn't change things.
Hikari made a polite "please" gesture with his hand. "Hiashi-dono, if you think you can figure this out on your own, by all means go ahead. Tsunade-sama and I won't interfere at all."
Hiashi: ...
With that said, forget him—even within the entire Hyuga Clan, there were very few who understood medical ninjutsu.
And the person standing here was Tsunade!
The entire medical system of Konoha had been established by her. Putting on airs in front of her—what would be the point?
"I was wrong. Please, the two of you—what exactly is wrong with Hinata?" Hiashi finally yielded.
He had no choice but to give in.
Tsunade cast a look at Hikari, then turned and returned to the examination room.
"I believe Hinata's body is undergoing an evolutionary process that requires massive nutritional stimulation. She was malnourished for a long time before, which limited her growth and kept her average."
"So... her bloodline is evolving?!" Hiashi nearly jumped in place.
As someone who possessed the Byakugan kekkei genkai, he valued the Hyuga bloodline above all else.
If Hinata's bloodline could evolve, did that mean the entire Hyuga Clan might also have a chance?
"That's hard to say. Take the First Hokage, for example. His power was truly overwhelming, but his descendants were only slightly stronger than ordinary members of the Senju Clan. Has anyone else awakened Wood Release?"
Hiashi cast Hikari a resentful look.
He felt like he'd just been splashed with a bucket of cold water right at the peak of his excitement. All his enthusiasm was gone.
"Many situations are just individual cases. That said, even if it's just an exception, it's still very beneficial to the Hyuga Clan. If Hinata can raise the upper limit of the clan's potential, that would already be a great thing."
Hiashi cared about the overall strength of the clan, but if that goal couldn't be achieved, then seeing Hinata herself become stronger was still an acceptable outcome.
"But don't get happy too soon. You must keep Hinata's situation confidential. If anyone asks, say that you wanted to get Tsunade-sama to take Hinata as a disciple, and Tsunade-sama gave her a chance out of respect for you."
Hikari smoothly came up with a highly believable excuse.
That way, Hinata would have a reason to come to the hospital and a reason to meet Tsunade.
"If this is the awakening of a new kekkei genkai, then we don't know what aspect she's awakening yet. Will it affect Hinata's Byakugan?"
In Hiashi's view, Hinata's bodily evolution resembled the sudden awakening of Senju Hashirama's bloodline potential.
But the many records preserved by the Hyuga Clan stated clearly that bloodline awakenings had a fifty-percent chance of being a positive evolution—and a fifty-percent chance that the newly awakened power would be incompatible with the original bloodline, making the result even worse than before.
The Hyuga Clan did not understand medical techniques, but when it came to matters involving bloodlines, they were extremely serious.
"It should be a benign evolution. Right now, what I need to observe is how Hinata's body changes over the next three to seven days. After that, I'll have Tsunade-sama prepare some nutritional medical solutions to help shorten the transformation process."
It was already certain that Hinata's body had fallen behind its evolution due to long-term malnutrition.
So naturally, supplementing enough nutrients would speed up that process.
However, before that, Hikari needed to determine whether Hinata's transformation would require artificial intervention on his part.
He would not tell Hiashi these things.
According to the Hyuga Clan's genealogy, their ancestor traced back to Otsutsuki Hamura—the man who possessed the Tenseigan.
If Hinata's body was evolving along that path, then her end point would be an Otsutsuki-level body. But the Otsutsuki were standard Six Paths-tier beings. The energy required for that level of evolution was absolutely massive.
Relying on Hinata's current food intake, even eating for ten years might not be enough to complete even the initial stage of that transformation.
Right now, Hikari needed to measure the degree of her current changes and make preliminary estimates accordingly, to prevent any deviations during the evolution process—keeping everything firmly within his control.
Hinata was, after all, a living person. Hikari had to ensure her absolute safety while guiding her evolution. He would never gamble with her life.
"Hikari-dono, I'll leave this matter to you. If you need anything at all, just ask me directly!" With Hinata's future at stake, Hiashi was not stingy at all and immediately made this promise.